Canadian museum accepts oil sponsor despite censorship
Dec 2, 2013
Last week the Canadian Museum of Civilisation announced it had struck a sponsorship deal with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. It’s easy to see why this will be a PR coup for CAPP. But the Museum CEO’s beaming acceptance of oil money seems like an announcement that no lines will be drawn and no...
Namatjira in London: art and cultural survival
Nov 29, 2013
Taking place here in London, Big hArt’s production of Namatjira offers audiences a poetic engagement with Aboriginal Australia in the heart of the empire responsible for its colonisation. Sharp humour, playful performances and a moving story of a life that spanned most of the 20th century all combine to make a magical and powerful piece of theatre. Scott Rankin’s...
“Why should I forgive you after all that I’ve seen?” Refineries and resistance in Texas
Nov 28, 2013
Over September and October, three Platform staff traveled across North America to promote The Oil Road as well as learn from colleagues and friends there. This is the most recent blog by James Marriott from that trip, but you can also read how James travelled across the ocean by container ship and studied the history...
A Cheque Written in Blood: the Niger Delta remembers Ken Saro-Wiwa
Nov 19, 2013
It’s the middle of the night but I can’t sleep. It’s quiet apart from the dull hum of the aeroplane engine and the erratic, staccato snoring of the man next to me. There’s no need to put on one of the films. It’s the pictures in my mind that are keeping me awake. I see...
Fossil Free EBRD – Tweet Action!
Nov 18, 2013
Tweet #coalfreeEBRD and tell the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to end loans for all dirty energy projects starting with coal. Today, as the United Nations climate talks are taking place in Warsaw, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is attending the International Coal and Climate Summit. This lobby event is organised by...
منظمات مصرية تعارض توجه الحكومة لاستخدام الفحم كمصدر بديل للطاقة
Nov 17, 2013
قلق من توجه الحكومة لاستخدام الفحم كمصدر بديل للطاقة استمرار في استنزاف الموارد والبشر من أجل تضخيم أرباح المستثمرين أعربت المنظمات الموقعة أدناه عن قلقها الشديد من إصرار السيد منير فخري عبد النور وزير الصناعة والتجارة، على استخدام الفحم كبديل للغاز في مصانع الأسمنت والسيراميك، معتبرين أن هذا القرار يفيد قلة من المستثمرين الساعين لتحقيق...
Southbank Centre artists call for Shell to be dropped as sponsor on Ken Saro-Wiwa anniversary
Nov 11, 2013
A group of artists, musicians and authors who have all performed at the Southbank Centre have signed a letter (see below) calling on the arts institution to drop Shell sponsorship on the 18th anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 9. The 21 artists, including actor Mark Rylance, playwright Mark Ravenhill, the...
Toxins in the rivers and toxins in the body politic – the battle over Line 9 in Canada
Nov 6, 2013
Mika Minio-Paluello, Anna Galkina and James Marriott travelled in North America as part of a tour over September and October to promote The Oil Road – Journeys from the Caspian to the City of London. The fourth of a series of blogs on the journey comes from James Marriott in Ontario. York University, Toronto, Ontario...
The showcase that “Emboldens” and shakes the “Energetic Apathy”
Nov 4, 2013
Since I joined Platform in July, I have seen the high-spirited Farzana passionately preparing for the “Shake! – Young Voices in Arts, Media, Race & Power course”, organising its different activities and coordinating with other facilitators (Ed, Zena and Sai) in order to make it even better than the previous sessions. The third course was...
Divestment and ending arts sponsorship – both tools of oil company stigmatization
Nov 1, 2013
Divestment is very much the climate campaign buzzword at the moment. Tonight in London there’s the culmination of the Fossil Free Europe tour with divestment doyen Bill McKibben hoping to emulate the success of the States-side campaign over here, while last week we co-published with People & Planet and 350.org the report Knowledge and Power...
The Oil Road in Washington – Constructing Caspian Pipelines on Capitol Hill
Oct 30, 2013
Mika Minio-Paluello, Anna Galkina and James Marriott travelled in North America as part of a tour over September and October to promote The Oil Road – Journeys from the Caspian to the City of London. The fifth of a series of blogs on the journey is adapted from a talk that James Marriott gave at...
Fraud, Freedom and Fossil Fuels: Azerbaijan’s Elections
Oct 29, 2013
The fittings of Committee Room 6 at the House of Commons – thick carpet, green leather chairs, portrait of 18th century Prime Minister William Pitt and view over the Thames – suggest a solemn and sedate atmosphere. But last Thursday the debate raged furiously, back and forth. Mainly between Murad Gussanly, UK representative of the...
